Dedicated to all those children, teenagers and youth who have activated and fight for their future.

A long time ago the world waited for you. It was proven once again that you cannot plow in the sea. Instead, seeds of hope, wherever they spread a good day can germinate, flourish and bear fruit. And notice this, it seems that the seeds of hope are blossoming in you, the “Generation Friday”. It is you that the world has been waiting for some time.

One loses the count of generations as boomers, millennials, x, y, z, h, i, j and so many other names and letters with which they have labeled us, that are even confused and lost in the labyrinths of memory. But “Friday For Future” will be hard to forget because it has already entered History. There will be forever, Greta Thunberg and you, your companions, sitting in some neurons of collective memory, like the initiators of a new dawn.

The world was waiting for them because their parents and older brothers never showed up. Not everyone, but most, little time dedicated to the future, the one for which you are fighting now. Some said that the present had to be lived and practiced religiously. Why think about the future if the planet is soon going to end? Why bring children to a world that in a short time will be a hell?

Others argued that it was worth nothing to become professionals with the highest qualifications, with postgraduate degrees, doctorates. We are trilingual, tetralingual, and even then, we cannot afford to pay a modest rent. It was useless to study and acquire knowledge, they said with a mixture of resentment and anger. Under this state of mind, they moved to the present and there they anchored.

I answer them in the voice of Érika, one of my characters, who, in a similar way, replies to his companions, all neighbors of Athens: “We must take this knowledge as our own, from us young people, from nobody else, from our exclusive property. Nobody can take it from us because it is not an object, or devalue because it is not a currency, or seize because it is not a house, or evict it because wisdom is so attached to our interior that it is impossible to separate it from it. We must convince ourselves that we have not studied solely to obtain a job, a remuneration or a house. If we succeed, we will gain a better esteem of ourselves, we will mature, and we will have a more constructive perspective of the world and the future.”

What you have done is great, you have awakened to reality and you have awakened the world. With their demonstrations they are pushing countries, governments, media, companies, philanthropists to do more. They have achieved that millions of people who previously passed the environmental, ecological, climatic and related pages to stop and take an interest in their contents. Now in all parts of the world more and more people talk about global warming, climate change, greenhouse effect, environment, sustainability, carbon footprint, fracking, clean energy, electric car, wind energy, photovoltaic panels, forest deforestation, COP conferences, etc.

Finally, I advise you that if you want to be a different generation from the previous ones, give the acquisition of knowledge an important place of your time. In some countries, History, Philosophy, Psychology and even Literature have been removed from the curriculum. Make these matters yours by yourselves, fundamental to understanding the world and protecting yourself against fakes. In environmental matters absorb all the knowledge they can. To fight against climate change, slogans, banners and demonstrations are not enough. You must gather data, information and content. In this way they will be strengthened and will not run the risk of their movement being temporary.

Sandor Alejandro Gerendas-Kiss